Chocolate Bourbon Brownies

My liquor of choice: bourbon. My chocolate fix of choice: brownies. I think you can see where this is going.

This brownie adaptation comes from the brilliant guys at “Baked”, with locations both in Brooklyn, NY and Charleston, SC.

I have a couple of different brownie recipes I reach for depending on the need. This particular recipe is an all-around good pick because the brownies have an intense chocolate flavor that is perfectly complimented with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, due to a generous proportion of butter and eggs.

Most brownie recipes call for (or benefit from) a little bit of pure vanilla extract. In this case, I decided to use bourbon instead. Like vanilla extract, it’s very subtle in this recipe, but it rounds out the chocolate flavor nicely. Rum or kahlua would also work nicely. And you can always use vanilla extract as well.

Many of my mountain friends have tried making brownies up here and been unsuccessful, and frustrated. Please allow this recipe to make you a believer of happy high altitude baking outcomes!

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with aluminum foil and coat generously with butter or baking spray.

Whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. In a pot over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring the whole time to distribute the heat and prevent burning. Chocolate burns very easily, so use care. Remove from the heat once the mixture is smooth.

To the melted butter and chocolate, add the sugar and brown sugar. Whisk in three of the eggs until combined. Add the remaining two eggs and whisk until combined. Add the bourbon and stir to combine. Do not overbeat the batter at the this stage or you will get cakey brownies, rather than the fudgy kind this recipe seeks to achieve.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the batter and use a spatula to fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a tiny trace of flour mixture is still visible.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the brownies are just set. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely.

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Sounds wonderful. Every pan of brownies I’ve made since moving to 7000′ has been dreadful. Can’t wait to make this for a party this weekend.
Question: Want to add nuts …. would the bourbon make a difference on choice of walnuts v. pecans?
Will at 9 x 13 batch take a full cup of nuts?
Thanks!

These are delicious, I hope you like them! The bourbon will go great with both pecans and walnuts. Add whatever amount of nuts you wish, the great thing about brownies is that you can custom tailor them to your taste/texture preferences 🙂

Hi! I just found your website a few days ago and have saved at least 10 recipes to try… looks like this is one of them!! 😀 I’m very grateful for your work.

Just moved to the Boulder County area a few months ago, and I’m still getting the hang of this altering-recipes thing. Would I need to add a smidge of baking soda or baking powder to this recipe in order for it to work at 5,210 ft? Or do you think it would be fine as-is? Let me know what you think!

Just moved to Colorado from SO Cal and was making the most of my unemployment by teaching myself to bake. I came across this recipe and I’m so glad I tried it. This is the recipe I’ll use forever for brownies. They we’re thick, fudgy and so rich. I didn’t have bourbon but I used 1 tblsp of vanilla extract. They came out better than any brownie I’ve ever had….ever. Thanks Megan!

I am super impressed, and I’m a tough critic when it comes to baked goods. Finally a brownie recipe that works at high altitude! These are better than any brownie I’ve had a sea level, for that matter. I used Scharffen Berger chocolate and they were to die for!

Hi Megan, I enjoy reading your blog and trying your recipes at sea level. You are really great about giving adaptations for those of us not living at high altitude. I don’t see these on the brownie recipe. Would you please include them because I am dying to give these a try. Thank you.